The Tanuki Ninja fly-fishing rod brings the ancient Japanese art to the mainstream

Tenkara, or Japanese fly-fishing borders on pure artistry. You don’t reel a line out or reel a fish in. You rely purely on physics, mechanics, handwork, and an understanding of your gear. Just a rod, a line, and some artificial fly lure, or ‘kebari’ as the Japanese call it, and you’re set to go.

Designer and Engineer Luong Tam has devoted a significant part of his life to this hobby of his, turning it into a profession of sorts. The creator behind the Tanuki Tenkara fishing rods, Tam makes some of the most sophisticated fly-fishing rods in the business, relying on tradition as well as advanced material sciences, to make his rods lighter, stronger, and better.

The Tanuki Ninja is Tam’s best one yet. Designed to be telescopic, the rod folds into itself, becoming a mere 59cm (23 inches) when closed, and turns into a rod that’s at a glorious full length of 350cm (11 and a half feet). Tam’s rods also use a special Japanese Toray high modulus carbon fiber that allows the Tanuki Ninja rods to be incredibly resilient, bending into a 180° arc under stress without a sweat. The material also allows the Ninja to weigh a mere 63 grams (2.2 ounces), making it possibly the world’s lightest fly-fishing rod ever built. It packs an EVA foam grip at its base too, to make working the rod easier and more comfortable.

The Tanuki Ninja comes in its foldable, easy to carry avatar, along with two lines: a high-visibility floating line, and a lighter, stronger fluorocarbon line. Built for recreational as well as professional use, the Tanuki Ninja brings the joy and the centuries-old art form of Japanese Tenkara Fly Fishing into the mainstream.

The Tanuki Ninja-Tenkara Fly Fishing Rod makes fly fishing more fun and more effective in catching fish due to its extreme flexibility and sensitivity.

The flexibility of the rod helps cast a very fine line without much effort and the sensitivity gives the fisher additional indicator to detect a fish bite in deep water. Tanuki Ninja makes casting with a very fine line truly effortless.

The rod is super light, it weights about 2.2 oz or 63 grams. It is possibly the world lightest tenkara rod.

Casting

Keep the wrist vertical, tip section bend not the rod, and relax holding the grip. Cast with speed and no force because the line is very light and the rod tip is very flexible. It is a continuous casting without pause on backcast because the line is too line and short, there is no mass on the line.

Dry Fly Manipulation

Let’s dive into the technicals below. Fishing rod action is a combination of Power Flex and Casting Flex.

Rod PowerFlex

Power Flex is defined by line weight or lure weight. To define power flex, rod maker hang a weight on the tip of the rod, to find out how much weight for a rod bend down to a third of the rod. More weight means heavier line. Tenkara rod is new and the line is so fine, there is no standard for it.

Rod Action Flex

Casting Flex is defined by Fast, Medium and Slow. The rod bend close to the tip will be faster. When it is casted, the air resistance bends the rod.

Tenkara Line Comparison

– Monofilament is best for keeping the line above water, or sink fast for nymphing but low visibility. – Furled Line is easiest to cast with but it absorbs water, fixed – length and easy to get tangle. – Tanuki Floating Line is a high quality floating line. It is in between monofilament and furled line. It is a Hi-Vis, light, water resistant and no memory.